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Anyone know of weird uses of elemental powers...

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Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#1: Mar 16th 2011 at 7:41:08 AM

And unconventional elements? Let's start with, water and air.

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CrystalGlacia from at least we're not detroit (Living Relic)
#2: Mar 16th 2011 at 9:34:16 AM

Depends on your definition of "weird" or "unconventional". There are some fantasy authors who believe that using magic for anything other than blowing shit up/killing people is unconventional. I can think of all kinds of ways stuff like elemental magic could be used.

  • Water
    • Summon a small raincloud to water your crops/garden.
    • Create currents to help keep your boat on course.
    • Move a little ball of water around in the light to entertain your baby.

  • Air
    • Use a light breeze to blow dust off stuff.
    • Summon some wind to move clouds around.
    • Dry your clothes if you get them wet.

As for weird elemental magics, I think I've created one- Body magic. I was trying to create an eight-element magic system that you could slot Pokemon's seventeen-element system into, so I created Body magic to accommodate the Fighting and Normal types.

"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
cityofmist turning and turning from Meanwhile City Since: Dec, 2010
turning and turning
#3: Mar 16th 2011 at 10:19:01 AM

I've always wanted to write a story where the main characters had control over chemical elements. So you'd have, like, carbon power, which would be useful and potentially very deadly, and tungsten power, which would be awesome but useless, because not that much is really made of tungsten.

Anyway, both air and water powers could very easily be used to kill people. Control over weather, although that could get complicated what with chaos butterflies and so on. You could essentially move things telekinetically by pushing the air around them. Maybe if you were really good, you could create sound by vibrating air molecules. That's all I can think of for now.

edited 16th Mar '11 10:21:13 AM by cityofmist

Scepticism and doubt lead to study and investigation, and investigation is the beginning of wisdom. - Clarence Darrow
Yej (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: They can't hide forever. We've got satellites.
#4: Mar 16th 2011 at 10:35:49 AM

[up] Wouldn't hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and carbon be completely unbalanced? The vast majority of everything on Earth is made of those.

stingerbrg Since: Jun, 2009
#5: Mar 16th 2011 at 11:25:17 AM

Depending on how powerful you want the magic to be, water and/or air could separate the hydrogen and oxygen in water to provide oxygen for the magic user to breath underwater.

RalphCrown Short Hair from Next Door to Nowhere Since: Oct, 2010
Short Hair
#6: Mar 16th 2011 at 12:06:33 PM

You know, as much as writers use the idea of elements, nobody seems to follow through on the rationale. What if everything was made out of varying proportions of earth, air, fire, and water? What are the implications?

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Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#7: Mar 16th 2011 at 4:44:46 PM

Okay Glacia, you've got me interested in mundane uses for elemental magic. Anyone have any thoughts? Oh and ones for fire and earth, in the sense of plant life.

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.
AwayLaughing Away from North of Broadway (Seven Years' War) Relationship Status: Not caught up in your love affair
Away
#8: Mar 16th 2011 at 5:07:11 PM

Earth

  • producing better soil
  • preventing weeds in your garden
  • strengthening herbs for poisons/potions (if you have those)
  • keeping the land steady (very helpful and VERY practical in areas with corrosion)
  • prevent crop disease

Fire

  • preventing wood houses/crops from burning
  • ability to heat houses efficiently
  • interrogation, which isn't practical for a farmer but is for a politician/guard/mercenary/pirate/anyone who will have enemies.
  • very useful for blacksmiths in general.

I also thought air could be used to send messages, just send your voices to one another via wind currents.

Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#9: Mar 16th 2011 at 5:12:34 PM

Assuming lightning is a element, what could it be used for?

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.
AwayLaughing Away from North of Broadway (Seven Years' War) Relationship Status: Not caught up in your love affair
Away
#10: Mar 16th 2011 at 5:15:00 PM

To me lightning is more a "KILL IT" power, but it could certainly synthesis electricity in a fantasy world. Again, torture, or maybe making glass (sand+lightning+a few other conditions=glass)? You could have a coastal society of epic glass blowers because the prevalence of lightning magic/manipulation.

edited 16th Mar '11 5:15:59 PM by AwayLaughing

Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#11: Mar 16th 2011 at 5:18:24 PM

Any way metal manipulation could be usfuel?

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.
AwayLaughing Away from North of Broadway (Seven Years' War) Relationship Status: Not caught up in your love affair
Away
#12: Mar 16th 2011 at 5:36:55 PM

Smithing (so everything from nails to armour), making jewellery, in fights you could really, really do a lot of damage to a sword or metal tipped arrows. Pretty much anything that had metal could be targeted. It would pose problems with fake money, the forgeries could be brilliant and you'd need another metal manipulator to judge it. If you use that I'd strongly suggest making it so the metal break down into "I can only manipulate steel/iron/silver/copper/brass/gold/sing metal of your choice".

In any not-metal poor nation an elemental who could easily manipulate all metals would be a huge menace if they chose to be.

Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#13: Mar 16th 2011 at 5:41:20 PM

So any way water manipulation could be usfuel to a society?

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.
AwayLaughing Away from North of Broadway (Seven Years' War) Relationship Status: Not caught up in your love affair
Away
#14: Mar 16th 2011 at 5:59:27 PM

Water food crops, water animals, prevent dehydration of horses/work animals during the day, better to bath with, like Galcia said control water currents with boats, help direct fish using currents.

I really, really don't want to come off as rude here but surely you've thought up some of your own you can throw at us? Helps with brain storming.

Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#15: Mar 16th 2011 at 6:05:32 PM

Well water manipulation would be usfuel for sewage treatmant, irrigation, and treating a variety of medical illneses that involve fluids.

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.
AwayLaughing Away from North of Broadway (Seven Years' War) Relationship Status: Not caught up in your love affair
Away
#16: Mar 16th 2011 at 6:24:36 PM

Tada! Hadn't thought of sewage actually, good one. Off to bed now, g'night.

Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#17: Mar 16th 2011 at 6:29:01 PM

I'll be over to read you a story soon.tongue

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.
SakuraTenshi Since: Nov, 2010
#18: Mar 16th 2011 at 7:36:42 PM

In one old idea I had for a story involving a Magic, the main character specialized in air magic to the point of being able to manipulate the individual gasses. He used this to create areas with rapidly decreasing oxygen around his opponents to weaken them while drawing in purified are for himself.

On the flip side, at one point he would have fought a fire specialist who would try to kill him by igniting all that oxygen rich air around the guy.

and on a similar note, as others have pointed out, the air magician also tended to use his abilities to nullify sounds he makes as well as for ventriloquism. He was very much to be a bit of a Guile Hero

edited 16th Mar '11 7:38:17 PM by SakuraTenshi

Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#19: Mar 16th 2011 at 7:56:14 PM

So any element that'd probably be affective against air?

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.
SakuraTenshi Since: Nov, 2010
#20: Mar 16th 2011 at 8:05:35 PM

I never thought that far into the story, but probably earth. Sure he can nullify the vibrations he makes in the air, but not the ones he makes by moving on the ground (E.I. Toph powers), stone spears being too heavy to knock away with wind, or simply being held by the ground or being crushed to death. If I recall, ultimately what made certain elements seem more powerful than others was how well one could use them.

Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#21: Mar 16th 2011 at 8:12:22 PM

Any way a kid could use water magic to amuse him or herself?

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melloncollie Since: Feb, 2012
#22: Mar 16th 2011 at 8:18:38 PM

Could you give opponents frostbite if you controlled water? Could you have their eyes freeze over or something?

Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#23: Mar 16th 2011 at 8:27:36 PM

Technically you could make people explode, if you had water magic? Or have a Zombie army.

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.
GiantSpaceChinchilla Since: Oct, 2009
#24: Mar 16th 2011 at 9:46:23 PM

Assuming lightning is a element, what could it be used for?

-> Ionizing air? giving things power? cutting things power can't? Radiation?

Any way metal manipulation could be usfuel?

-> Magnetism? Radio? Biological Catalyst?

So any element that'd probably be affective against air?

-> water in the form of steam? Lightning? Wood?

Technically you could make people explode, if you had water magic? Or have a Zombie army.

-> explode would be a little hard but possible, burning would be more likely. perhaps, but did you want to make a shout out to Blood-Bending? Perhaps, zombie army would be something a bit magical for air with the whole breath of life thing.

Zolnier The Odd Lad from A suspiciously dull shop Since: Apr, 2009
The Odd Lad
#25: Mar 16th 2011 at 10:13:31 PM

Zombie army by means of manipulating fluids in corpses, like puppets. And what would be required secondary powers for air, water, and plant manipulation?

Life's Gonna Suck When You Grow Up... But Is It That Great Now?... Also I'm Skylark2 now.

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